Deletion gone wild. Please help!

[jhersco]

I have a strange problem when using Mac OS X 10.2.4 on a 1Ghz TiBook. It always starts in Entourage, but goes beyond that. That's why I'm posting it here.

Here is what happens:
Occasionally, while I am composing an email message in Entourage and I hit the delete key, the computer takes over and keeps on deleting, removing letter after letter until the whole message is gone. Then, it deletes everything in my inbox (moves the messages to Deleted Items folder.) If I Force Quit while this is happening, the computer starts deleting info in open windows, such as in Word docs or Quicken registers. Pressing other keys do nothing to stop the madness. The only way I can stop it is to shut down/reboot.

I don't know what to do to fix this problem. I reinstalled Mac OS X, using the Archive and Preserve method, but the problem persists. Any help would be much appreciated.

[ex2bot]

The only thing I can think of is a sticky delete key on your keyboard. That may not explain things deleted in Finder, since Finder requires command-delete.

Doug

[jhersco]

Thanks for the reply. The theory of a "stuck" Delete key is interesting. I wonder, though, how that would cause all messages in my Inbox to move to the Deleted Items folder. When I create a test message and intentionally keep the Delete key depressed, it stops as soon as the message I typed has been completely deleted.